Pride must honour deal: Black Lives Matter

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Black Lives Matter is demanding that Pride Toronto honour its written agreement to ban police floats from future parades — and accusing Mayor John Tory of being “in cahoots” with the cops.

Officials with Black Lives Matter - Toronto said a history of “anti-blackness” within Pride and continued police harassment against blacks both gay and straight are reasons Pride officials must honour the contract of demands signed during Sunday’s Pride parade.

BLM staged a 30-minute sit-in that halted the parade until Pride’s Mathieu Chantelois signed off on the demands, including one banning Toronto Police floats in future parades. Chantelois said he signed off on the demands only to get the parade moving again, and that Pride won’t be forced into honouring them.

But BLM co-founder Alexandria Williams called Pride’s “flip-flopping” and its handling of “blackness” within the LGBT community “abysmal.”

“The fact that Mathieu (Chantelois) has gone back and forth in his solidarity with us shows that Black Lives Matter and the black LGBT community does not have a place in Pride Toronto,” Williams said.

Mayor John Tory has come out in support of continued police participation in Pride events, but BLM’s Rodney Diverlus said Tory needs to “stay in his lane” and out of the conversation.

“Mayor Tory ... has no place in this discussion and he needs to stay in his lane,” said Diverlus. “This is an issue between the LGBT community, the black community, Pride Toronto, and the community at large. This is a conversation that has existed before he took office and will continue after he (leaves) office.”

“The mayor has a particular role: to represent all people in this city,” said Khan. “What the Mayor has done is very clearly stated that he is in cahoots with the police, that he is not invested with ... black liberation.